Court rules Uxbridge selectman lived in home illegally

UXBRIDGE 
A Worcester County Housing Court judge has ruled that Selectman Parmaz “Peter” Baghdasarian violated the building code by failing to obtain an occupancy certificate for a house he built and has been living in for more than two years.

Associate Justice Timothy F. Sullivan issued a permanent injunction Feb. 1 prohibiting Mr. Baghdasarian from occupying the newly constructed home on his property at 67 Johnson Road until he obtains a certificate of occupancy from the building commissioner. The town released a copy of the ruling Tuesday.

In 2002, Mr. Baghdasarian obtained a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow for construction of a second single-family home on a portion of his 48-acre lot, which is in an agricultural zoning district.

Under conditions of the special permit, which was necessary because the divided house lot didn't meet frontage requirements, Mr. Baghdasarian was required to separate the parcels by deed within one year.

Mr. Baghdasarian did not register the deed of the subdivided parcel.

He subsequently obtained a building permit in 2005, built the post-and-beam and traditional-construction home and has been living there with his wife despite never having obtained an occupancy certificate.

On July 11, 2012, Building Commissioner and Zoning Enforcement Officer Nelson Burlingame issued a notice of violation to Mr. Baghdasarian, ordering him to cease and desist living in the new home until he got an occupancy certificate.

Mr. Baghdasarian did not comply with the order and the town took him to court.

Town Manager Sean Hendricks said he and Mr. Burlingame met with Mr. Baghdasarian at his house Monday and agreed that if a few small safety features were dealt with, Mr. Burlingame would come back later this week and issue a temporary occupancy permit. He said the temporary permit would be valid for six months. At that point, Mr. Burlingame would re-evaluate the condition of the house for a permanent occupancy certificate.He has been allowed to remain in the home this week.

Mr. Baghdasarian, reached by phone Tuesday, disputed the six-month term of a temporary certificate. He said his reading of the building code suggests a different length of term.

“I'll do the things that need to be done,” Mr. Baghdasarian said about the order.“The idea wasn't to kick him out,” Mr. Hendricks said. “We just wanted him to get an occupancy permit.”

Mr. Hendricks noted that the judge was silent on Mr. Baghdasarian's failure to separate the lots by deed, which the ZBA had required in 2002. He said the town would look into that matter further before issuing a final permit.

Mr. Baghdasarian said, “It's (the decision) aggravating, because I put a lot of work into it.”

He said he could not afford a lawyer, although in November Judge Diana H. Horan ordered both parties to appear with counsel because of the potential for conflict of interest surrounding a town official and a municipal matter.

“The issue has never been the occupancy permit,” Mr. Baghdasarian said. “We never ever, ever go after people for occupancy permits.”

Rather, he said, the issue stemmed from a dispute with a neighbor.

Mr. Baghdasarian said he has built several homes, and “you live in a house whenever you're ready. But then the government gets involved with everything.”